Chris Matthews bemoans partisan shift

WORCESTER — Chris Matthews seemed to place on a pedestal the unique relationship of his former boss, House Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill Jr., a Democrat, and Republican President Ronald Reagan.

Speaking Monday to a nearly full Hogan Center Ballroom at the College of the Holy Cross, the 1967 Holy Cross graduate spoke warmly of the pair's famously close bond.

He relayed a story about the precarious days after Ronald Reagan had been shot in 1981 by John W. Hinckley Jr. Mr. Matthews said the public wasn't quite aware at the time how serious Mr. Reagan's injuries were.

He said Mr. O'Neill went to the president's hospital room and simply held both of Mr. Reagan's hands. The two prayed together, reciting the 23rd Psalm. Mr. O'Neill then kissed the president's forehead and left soon after, but the episode illustrated the mutual respect the two had for each other, Mr. Matthews said.

"The fighting stops when it gets serious, and we share a common humanity," Mr. Matthews said.

Mr. Matthews, host of "Hardball" on MSNBC and former chief of staff to Mr. O'Neill, has a new book out, "Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked," that details the relationship. He said the first time he met Mr. Reagan was before a State of the Union speech, in the speaker's office.

Mr. Reagan shook his head, and corrected Mr. Matthews, noting that he and Mr. O'Neill had agreed that "we're all friends after 6."

The two talked football, and kept constant communication. That cooperation was invaluable when it came to key votes and policy decisions on everything from Social Security and tax reform to Northern Ireland and Cold War maneuvering with the Soviet Union, Mr. Matthews said.

That spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship seems long gone on today's political battlefields, and Mr. Matthews noted that much of it comes down to simple math. Republicans can consistently oppose President Barack Obama because they have little incentive to work with him or Democrats, he said. Recent voting patterns bear that out, and point to more of the same in coming elections, he said.

The country is split down the middle, Mr. Matthews said, pointing out that of the 435 House of Representative seats, only 50 races were decided within six points. There are no more close districts, he said. That means 90 percent of House seats are guaranteed to incumbents. All they have to worry about is the primary; Mr. Matthews said Republicans have to prove their conservative bona fides, while Democrats only have to worry about candidates who are younger and to their left.

"There's no pressure to be moderate," he said.

The end result is that we've elected a president and a Congress that was not elected to support him, Mr. Matthews said.

That fear of primary challenges, combined with the comfort of solid Democratic or Republican districts, means politicians have little incentive to tackle tough issues, Mr. Matthews said. He said that's why we won't have serious reform on spending or deficit reduction, or reform on immigration.

Looking forward, Mr. Matthews said, there's a general "sullenness" to the national atmosphere right now, and said Mr. Obama has "lost contact" with voters.

He said he doesn't see anyone beating Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee for president in 2016. He said her nomination will put Republicans in a tough spot — they will have to find a candidate to run against the former first lady, senator and secretary of state whom "they can convince their wives to vote for."

He predicted Congress will be "pretty conservative" in 2016.

In an interesting exchange, while taking questions from a man in the audience who claimed his mother gave voice coaching lessons to John F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward Markey, as well as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the man predicted Ms. Warren would someday be president.

Mr. Matthews seemed genuinely intrigued, and pressed the questioner.

"Give me something," he said, pressing further by flatly asking if Ms. Warren plans on running.

The audience member, perhaps backtracking a bit, only answered that she should.